Abstract

The growing demand for alternative technologies of clean and sustainable nature, has stimulated the development and improvement of equipment that uses solar energy for drying seeds and fruits. Such equipment has been used worldwide for hundreds of years, however, it remains uncommon in Serra Gaúcha, a region of large production of grapes and apples for consumption in natura in the state of Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil. In order to investigate the economic and technical viability of solar dryers in the Serra Gaúcha this work has as target the design, simulation, construction and experimental analysis of an Indirect Passive Solar Dryer with Chimney. The prototype is divided in three parts: solar collector, dehydration chamber and chimney. It was built prioritizing low cost materials, not compromising its performance. The device was submitted to experiments, which observed: solar collector behavior very close to the simulated one, obtaining a coefficient of performance of 87% for the equipment; satisfactory rise in temperature at the collector outlet comparing to its inlet; and dehydration of apples with a reduction of 89% for mass with 32.78 MJ of energy delivered to the system. The prototype payback period was estimated in two years.

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